The level of awareness regarding Bitcoin in Africa seems to be on the increase, a several new platforms have emerged.

Though there have been talks about how Bitcoin could help the African economy, most of these new platforms offer services that focus specifically on cost savings on remittances, although with differing exchange rates.

These new providers, which differ from the three most popular platforms that have dominated the African market for some time: Bitpesa, BitX and ICE3x, also engage in some form of education for their potential users about the use and benefits of Bitcoin.

They all mostly have an interface that makes instant calculation of the current of the currency as well as others available and support mobile money accounts for easy payments. Though not an endorsement as viable, some of these new platforms that focus on and cater particularly for users in the Nigerian, Ghanaian and Ivorian/CFA markets are:

Zenithincome

Registered in Ghana, Zenithincome buys and sells digital products which include e-currencies and e-books using payment methods such as local bank deposit within Ghana, MTN. It serves the Nigerian, Ghanaian and the eight CFA West African zone countries.

Remitano

It is a product of a company incorporated in Seychelles to provide an escrowed P2P Bitcoin marketplace for the buying and selling of Bitcoin easily. It touts itself as the largest Bitcoin exchange in Vietnam. Aside serving users in Australia and Malaysia, its site also caters for two African countries: Nigeria and Ivory Coast.

Nairaex

Operated and controlled by Bitstake Global, a limited company incorporated and based in Nigeria, Nairaex allows for buying and selling Bitcoin in Nigeria through bank account deposit within two to eight hours.

Naira4Dollar

Run by Sunej Global Ventures Limited in Nigeria to provide e-commerce services, Internet marketing, ICT, e-currency exchange etc.

NairaSwitch

Enables buying and selling Bitcoin, Perfect Money, Web Money and other e-currencies in Nigeria with Naira through account funding in Nigeria.

CB-TEK

Operating in Ghana, CB-TEK deals with Bitcoin, Perfect Money, web hosting services, and domain registration. They accept payment details and order number via online chat to make its process faster.

BTCGhana

This delivers money sent through Bitcoin - it advises senders in the USA, UK or EU to buy bitcoin from popular sites like Bittylicious, Coinbase or exchanges like Bitstamp or Kraken - directly to a recipient's mobile money account (TigoCash, Airtel Money and MTN Mobile Money) in Ghana within minutes.

Chankura

This is a cryptocurrency exchange focusing on Africa. Currently operating in South Africa with a plan to launch in Ghana and Nigeria, Chankura targets the unbanked African population especially Africans that have migrated to South Africa and other developed markets with the adoption of Bitcoin in most countries for remittances.